TOOGAB - Daily Google Android News, Reviews and More

Not having 3G service is not very fun, but with the use of Wi-Fi I could activate the Application Market for the G-1, which is still in Beta. At first glance it isn’t as snazzy as the Apple App Store, but it fits the rest of the UI. The start page divides the selections by Applications, Games, Search, and My Downloads with a coverflow-ish interface at the top with recommended apps.

Android Marketplace

When selecting Applications you are presented with different categories. After selecting your category you can view all the apps within and choose which one you want to download. They can be organized by popularity or date released. Either way you pick you are able to scroll through the apps and purchase the ones you feel you need.

Applications within a category

Once you choose the application you want to download, for this I chose Flashlight, you are presented with a summary about the app and reviews written by users. At the bottom you can touch the install button to start downloading and installing the app.

Flashlight information page

When you download you get a notification in the notification bar at the top. When you drag it down you can see the application downloading and when it is finished you can click the notification and the application will open. You can download and install multiple apps at the same time while browsing the store.

Downloaded application in the notification bar

The Application Market is a great experience but in good need of apps. There aren’t many available, but they are all free so far.  I haven’t found a paid app, but then again it is still in Beta. With the home screen you can select the application from the menu by holding down on it and then add it to one of your three screens. The Application Market could be very profitable and can be a very pleasant experience if Google makes it that way.

With the experience I have had the best application so far is ShopSavy. It allows you to use the camera to scan a bar-code or use the keyboard to enter a bar-code or ISBN number.  Then if it recognizes the code or picture it will look up the product online and show you where you can find it cheaper online. If you have the GPS on the app will also show you local stores that carry the item and their prices.

EA games are the world’s leading games publisher and have produced many fantastic applications for the iPhone including Spore, Tetris, Bejeweled and Monopoly. All of which have been a big hit in the App Store. For those of you with a new T-Mobile G1 who feel you might be missing out somewhat, do not fear.

The Smart PDA have reported that Tetris, Bejeweled and Monopoly are all due to make an appareance on the Android platform in the not-so-distant future. EA’s Mobile Vice President, Adam Sussman, said “Android is another exciting new platform to offer customers great games with enhancements like touch and tilt capabilities.”

It seems like the Android Market will soon be filled with some great quality games and the G1, just like its rival the iPhone, will be a big hit in the mobile gaming market.

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The Android team has recently opened its doors to allow developers the chance to submit their applications, as promised last week.

Just like the App Store for the iPhone, downloading software to your G1 is a simple process via the Android Market. It is also claimed to be just as easy to submit applications — just click here and follow the simple steps. It will cost developers $25 to get in!

Unlike the App Store, there is currently no approval process for submitted applications. This means that the Android Market could see a surge of innapropriate and useless applications, just like the many that swamped the App Store… I wonder how many flashlight applications we’ll see? The structure of the Anroid Market is similar to the App Store and users can rate applications, however, there is no guarantee the best applications will be easily found, expecially since users are restricted to the built-in store on the G1 as opposed to having the ability to search for decent applications from their computer.

No approval process means developers can submit anything they want for download, with no prohibitions or restrictions. Developers also have full access to the phones hardware which is excellent for applcations that allow tethering, something I for one would like to see on the iPhone. The downside of course to no approval process means it would be possible for harmful and unsafe applications to enter the Android Market, which could affect the stability of the end user’s handset.

Our friends over at Medialets published a cool post detailing the day one stats from the Android Market. Very interesting indeed. It’s a quick and easy read, so if you’d like to check it out simply click here.

First off, some general observations from day 1 at the Android Market:

• They like to play games, shop, and know what music they are listening to
• They are curious about the weather
• They generally share the same interests as iPhone users

Next, some more important observations…

1. The average app has 7,800 + downloads.
2. 9 apps made it to the 10,000 - 50,000 downloads range.
3. 24 hours into it, it appears that Android users are interested in the same types of app functionality as iPhone users…. either that or Android developers are interested in creating the same types of apps as iPhone developers.

Early days, but some interesting data is contained in that report for sure. Should prove to be very interesting not only to watch the download numbers, but to see what other trends develop in the near-term.

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